Myth Becomes Reality

Using ancient techniques coupled with contemporary tools and ideas, I bring artifacts from the shadows of myth and dream into the light of day.

Illustrations

As an illustrator and contemporary visual artist I explore the connection between ancient myth and the human subconscious.

Concept Art

I design objects and ornamentation to create authentic culture for imaginary worlds. My concept art draws on twenty years of experience in interpreting and re-imaging ancient material culture and mythology.

Public Speaker

I have made presentations as an expert in ancient swordsmithing and material culture at conferences in the UK and across the US and Canada.

Swordsmith

Over my 20 year career as a professional swordsmith I've learned to forge, cast metal, carve wood, tool leather, and create swords informed by historical research at museums, and a deep love of ancient culture and myth.

Jake Powning

I'm a contemporary artist, swordsmith, concept designer, and storyteller exploring the roots of European mythology.
Here you can find a portfolio of my past work, swords, drawings and digital paintings, and read my blog which is full of images of my work, stories, and tutorials about how I make some of the things I make.

This drawing was inspired by Harald Wiberg’s beautiful paintings in Astrid Lindgren’s Tomten book about a kindly tomten who looks after the animals and children during the long winter nights on a Scandinavian farm. The svart-alf, however, is of a different nature than the friendly tomten, he comes up from …

I’ve always loved Norse myth and especially the figure of Odin who is willing to go to any length to achieve wisdom. This drawing depicts the stanzas of the poem Runatal in which Odin hangs himself from an arcane tree in order to find the secret of the runes. It …

A dagger is like a distillation of a sword, a sword-seed, and therefore perfect for a wizard. Perhaps the world is not as it seems. The forces that hold things together may be uncertain, not as we imagine them. The fourth dimension, ancient time, might be filled with secrets— secrets …

Sun rises over spruce ridged hills through morning mist, hummocks and trees cast long shadows. Leaves hold the light like lanterns or translucent hands, their veins showing. It’s been fire weather lately, my chimney trails a white plume, the Jøtul in my shop is back to work, and so am I. …

I’ve been carving staffs since I was eight years old. I’ve spent many happy days hunting for suitable trees. Searching through the hills, rooting through thickets, lying on my back with my cheek against a sapling sighting it’s trunk for straightness. It’s not easy to find the right sapling for …

Autumn seems full of secrets. Flame colored leaves cast the forest in a different light than the clear light that touches the fields. Mist hangs over the trees where the hidden brook wends its way through the valley. It’s a time for bonfires and gathering the last things in— stacking wood, …